Heart for art

“Word of mouth and positive feedback helped the success of 'Art in the Park.' We didn't really have a problem convincing exhibitors to join, especially as the years wore on. People, both exhibitors and viewers, were attracted by the sense of fun and light approach to experiencing art. We also have, if I may say so, an excellent social media presence, which helps market the event.”

WHEN “Art in the Park” started 18 years ago, the organizers — Trickie Lopa and Lisa Periquet — had only four exhibitors in three tents.

Yet, they managed to successfully sustain the one-day art fair with the Salcedo Market apparently as a positive precursor.

“We started with three tents and 12 vendors, and had to time the event to keep to the hours of the market: 7 a.m. to 2 p.m.,” Lopa told The Manila Times.

“Can you imagine artists waking up to set up before 7 a.m.?

Lopa and Periquet, who also started the Salcedo Market two years earlier, ventured into selling art out in the open, with the “Art in the Park” concept.

“We founded the open-air Salcedo Saturday Market in 2004,” Periquet shared.

“For the market's second anniversary, it made sense to have 'Art in the Park' as an open-air event to be held at the same time as market hours.”

“'Art in the Park' began out of necessity,” granted Lopa.

“Lisa and I helped conceptualize the Salcedo Saturday Market in 2004 and in 2006, we needed an event to celebrate its second anniversary.

“That year was my second year as secretary of the Board of Trustees of the Museum Foundation of the Philippines. The foundation desperately needed funds to keep its programs going. So to kill two birds with one stone, we thought of an event — an art market to complement the food market — where the Museum Foundation would be its beneficiary.”

Lopa found something that fed into her passion. “I met gallerists and artists, and have not looked back since,” she admitted. “I really never see 'Art in the Park' as work.”

Throughout the 18 years, “Art in the Park” continuously takes off without any miss. Even in the pandemic, the exhibit-sale went online and hybrid. There was even a year when “Art in the Park” was held twice yearly online.

“Word of mouth and positive feedback helped the success of 'Art in the Park,'” maintained Periquet. “We didn't really have a problem convincing exhibitors to join, especially as the years wore on.

“People, both exhibitors and viewers, were attracted by the sense of fun and light approach to experiencing art. We also have, if I may say so, an excellent social media presence, which helps market the event.”

“'Art in the Park' achieved success from the get-go, that's really the only motivation you, as an organizer, would need to keep it going,” Lopa explained. “For six years, it was the only art event around.

“Art Fair Philippines' came as an offshoot of our success at 'Art in the Park.' For me, it allowed me to widen my art circle to more and more galleries, and more and more artists year after year. So there was never a reason not to keep at it.

“Yes, even in the pandemic we held the event. In 2021, we celebrated our 15th year, so we had it twice online that year.”

It will be recalled that when “Art in the Park” started, it was held in June and November (2006 and 2007).

“We would always try to tweak it,” Lopa recalled. “On our third year, I think, we even had an evening event called 'Art After Dark,' where hurriedly relaid out the park to distinguish it from the daytime event.

“We worked so hard, only for 'Art After Dark' to get rained out. That was when we decided to move the event to the first quarter of the year and to only have it once each year.”

Periquet surmised, “I think the concept of an outdoor art fair was quite unique then and piqued people's curiosity, so that helped us last all these years. We made sure to deliver a good show each time by preparing months ahead.

“I would also say that when there were challenges over the years, including the pandemic years, we rose to face them. We've always forged ahead, adapted as best as we could and learned from our mistakes. We never give up.”

Thankfully, Lopa and Periquet did not face any disappointment the first time they staged “Art in the Park” 18 years ago.

“We didn't really experience disappointment as we didn't really know what to expect,” Periquet recalled. “However, the first event had just a few exhibitors and a smattering of visitors.

“It was very dusty though, that first year, as the grass was not at its best growth cycle, so that was definitely not a plus! It's easy to forget that selling art in the open was a totally new concept then, which took some time to be appreciated.”

“'Art in the Park' admirably survived even the pandemic, albeit with challenges the organizers had to hurdle.

“The hardest thing we did was cancel 'Art in the Park 'one week before it was set to open in 2020,” Periquet shared. “We thought we could pull it off, delaying our decision till the last minute until it was clear we couldn't continue.

“We had already spent a lot on the setup. Unfortunately, we lost money on one of our suppliers whom we paid in full for the supply of exhibition panels — they refused to refund any amount for panels that we never used.

“That was a huge disappointment, as we had considered them partners in our efforts. As I said, we moved on and learned from our mistakes, so we now work with another supplier.

“Another major challenge was pivoting to an online event, which was operationally complex. After quite a few hiccups, we were able to develop an acceptable and efficient online platform that was very successful in the three or four times we employed it.”

Lopa is proud to say that “Art in the Park” was the first event of its kind to successfully shift to an online format.

“In 2020, 'Art in the Park' was set for March 15. As we know now, that was the first day of the Covid-19 lockdown that year.

“Such a pity as all the participants and artists, especially our special exhibit artists, were so ready with work. All that art with no homes to go to.”

“By August that year, heeding the call of our participants, we figured out how to mount an online event,” Lopa added.

“We raised the same amount of money as we would have for a live version. On the first day, we had 15,000 online buyers, the same number as we would have for a live event.”

Those online editions during the pandemic were the most difficult to mount for Lopa and Periquet.

“Maybe, the only times when I felt that 'Art in the Park' drained me,” recalled Lopa.

“For the first online event, we had to start from the basics. Figuring out how to meet via Zoom. That seems so easy for us now, but then, we all had to learn how to navigate those tools.

“Second, finding a platform that we could tailor and configure to fit our needs. We couldn't just hop on Lazada, right? We needed an online shopfront that would allow us to mimic the experience of discovery that was present at every 'Art in the Park.'

“We also had to 'train' our galleries to provide us with photos and artwork details way in advance: They couldn't just come in the morning of the fair and bring in artwork into their tents.

“We had to ensure that each photo and text had to follow a fixed format. Not an easy task as at that time, everyone was also trying to learn how to pivot to working online.

“We also decided to have it for a week to allow visitors to browse the work we uploaded. Unlike a one-day event with the galleries and participants doing all the selling, we had to do the backroom operations ourselves.”

In those eight days of “Art in the Park” online, sleep became a luxury for the organizers.

“None of us slept — we were constantly monitoring the site,” shared Lopa. “Restocking, meaning uploading new work, had to be done in the late evenings and early mornings, the quiet hours.

“So the team, especially our gallery liaisons, worked during the ungodly hours so that by morning, each gallery page appeared refreshed.

“You also have to remember that art is usually a one-off. There are no 'stocks' in another size or color. This may have been the biggest hurdle. The online shopfront is used to sell merchandise that does not go out of stock after one sale.”

Processing payment online became a challenge, too.

“Unfortunately, online payment gateways don't work fast enough to cancel or zero-out a painting from the time one buyer pays for it to another buyer clicking 'pay now' only one second later,” Lopa lamented.

“So, we faced this situation of multiple buyers being confirmed that they acquired a work, being charged for it, but not actually being able to get it.

“For the in-demand artists, we had as many as 12 people allowed to pay as they clicked to buy the work within.05 seconds of each other. We faced this conundrum of having to figure out who actually successfully bought the work [we had to review time logs], informing the other buyers that, no, they did not actually get the work, then having to negotiate with the credit card companies and payment gateways for timely refunds.

“You cannot imagine the amount of hate email and irate comments we had to deal with. And being the one overseeing the cashiering, I had to face most of this. The vitriol directed at us was so toxic, to this day I cannot believe how emotional people can get about art.

“Art people are passionate people, so we had to contend with not just disappointment but accusations of playing favorites, of just giving the work to those who we liked.

“This seems so ridiculous now, but I well remember the strain of having to answer each and every email explaining again and again the limitations of an online payment gateway and why we faced this issue of multiple sales for one work of art.”

However, the organizers got out of those nitty-gritty and major headaches.

“Luckily, we've always had a great team who believe in what we do, and we work with others that have become part of the event's 'family' throughout the years,” said Lopa.

“They were as invested as we were in ensuring we kept the event true to its spirit in those lockdown years.”

The exhibitors of “Art in the Park” grow in numbers through the years. The organizers cannot be any prouder.

“The event proved successful,” Lopa beamed. “We became THE main art event for those first six years, a venue to discover artists, for galleries to meet new collectors. And 'Art in the Park' has always been inclusive, nonintimidating and a lot of fun.”

“Art in the Park” was born because of the Salcedo Market, which came two years ahead. To date, both ventures are still going strong and undisputedly successful.

“Both ventures are clearly successful and pioneering,” Periquet beamed.

“Though we started out as an offshoot of the Salcedo Market, we realized after several years that we could draw our own audience apart from the market.

“The market and 'Art in the Park' eventually went separate ways and were held on different days. We have always been on good terms and still work together, specifically when we coordinate our set-up schedule.”

Both Lopa and Periquet are also running Art Fair Philippines, where one can find the best in contemporary art. Art Fair Philippines apparently complements “Art in the Park.” Both projects help each other.

“Art Fair Philippines would not have happened had we not proven our success in running 'Art in the Park,'” Lopa maintained.

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QUICK QUESTIONS

What is your biggest fear?

Lopa: Missing out.

What really makes you angry?

Lopa: Liars.

Periquet: Selfish and inconsiderate people.

What motivates you to work hard?

Lopa: Passion.

Periquet: My own expectations for myself.

What makes you laugh the most?

Lopa: Juicy art gossip.

Periquet: English humor, whether dry or slapstick.

What would you do if you won the lotto?

Lopa: Acquire an Anselm Kiefer art work.

Periquet: Support a small, worthwhile business enterprise or donate to an NGO (nongovernmental organization) focused on animal welfare or heritage conservation; after buying something nice for myself, of course.

If you could share a meal with any individual living or dead, who would they be?

Lopa: Ai Wei Wei.

Periquet: I'd love to have a meal with my father who passed away 35 years ago now; he loved good food.

What was the last book you read?

Lopa: Rereading James Clavell's “Shogun,” a favorite from my teens, to keep up with the remake of the TV series.

Periquet: I tend to go for nonfiction, so I read “The Houses That Sugar Built,” about houses built with sugar money in the Philippines in the early part of the 20th century.

What celebrity would you like to meet for a cup of coffee?

Lopa: Raf Simmons.

Periquet: Hmm, I'm not into celebrities.

What is the most daring thing you have ever done?

Lopa: Set up an art fair.

Periquet: I dove head-first into the sea from a diving rock when I was maybe 13 or 14 years old.

What is the one thing you will never do again?

Lopa: Set up an art fair.

Periquet: Probably No. 9. I twisted my back a bit and suffered from lower back pain for years.